This is a belated birthday present for Mega07ghost. Belated birthday wishes! I hope you had a great day and enjoy this little fic.
Tewcyn, thank you very much for your review for the last falling part! I really appreciated it.
The layout of the FBI building for this story is taken from the show and not the real LA FBI office.
Falling: To Fall Back
Colby stretched his sore muscles, leaned back, breathed out and grinned.
"You're already finished?" David looked up from his paperwork with a frown on his face.
Enjoying his victory, Colby jumped to his feet. "All done. All I's are dotted and all T's are crossed."
"You cheated," Megan accused him. "There's no other way you could be finished before me."
Her narrowed eyes and small lips were supposed to be threatening but Colby found them charming and laughed. "Face it, Megan, I'm just better."
"You mean, you had to write less?" David played with his pen. "I ran, I jumped, I caught the suspect, I handed the suspect to my fellow agents to catch my breath?" He tapped his pen against his desk, counting off every one of his points.
"It doesn't matter, I'm off and you still have to stay." Colby grabbed his stuff. "See you later." Waving goodbye, he went to the elevator with a spring in his step.
The moment the elevator doors closed behind him, Colby dropped the act. It had cost more energy than normal to keep his demons at bay. After a nightmare plagued night, he had awoken feeling uneasy and restless. He knew the feeling, it had been his constant companion in Afghanistan. Usually, he could work it off. But the longer morning run hadn't lessened the vice in his chest, neither had the chase after their runner.
Megan and David couldn't know that his improved performance was rooted in hypervigilance that came with a better attention span. But now he was bone-tired and just needed some time alone.
The elevator signaled its arrival on the first floor. Colby squared his shoulders and marched forward. Forward and never backward. He chose the way through the front entrance to get to his car. Rushing past the few people using this entrance, it took him a moment longer to recognize a known face. "Professor?"
Startled, Larry Fleinhardt looked up. "Agent Granger," he greeted him distractedly. A normal reaction for the professor and Colby was already turning around as he hesitated. Larry scratched his head and his gaze was focused on an old dark green Volvo standing a few feet away. Colby couldn't detect anything special about it - normal car, normal plates, normal parking position. Everything appeared to be normal and harmless.
"If you're waiting for Megan, she's still inside finishing some paperwork." He had never quite understood this particular relationship but Megan knew her Krav Maga and he didn't want to volunteer for her self-defense course, again.
"Oh, yes." Larry nodded but the confusion remained and it concerned Colby more than usual. Blaming the feeling on his overall anxiety, he turned completely and started to walk to his car. Yet, without conscious thought Colby slowed down again. Something about the way Larry had watched the car worried him. Memories from his nightmares and his tour of duty in Afghanistan resurfaced and left him with an uneasy impression that he should understand the clues. Sighing deeply, Colby circled back. "Professor? Is there something wrong with this car? Or why are you staring at it?"
"I fear," Larry shook off his frozen stance and looked up to Colby, "all this consulting work has made me paranoid."
The feeling of impending doom returned full force. "What makes you paranoid now?" He opened his jacket to have easy access to his gun.
"I have walked the last three blocks because I knew that I wouldn't find a parking space here," Larry recounted. "And I think that I may have been followed by this car. But it drove so slowly it would be a ridiculous way to follow me."
His heart started to beat faster and his hand found its way to his gun. Bracing against his fear he went to car to look into it. An old Volvo really wasn't the first option for an observation or to follow somebody.
"But the most fascinating thing about this car are the strange reflections in its windows," Larry continued after a slight hesitation.
Colby glanced over his shoulder to the astrophysicist. "What reflections?"
"If you watch carefully, you can see periodically the reflection of a lens - maybe from a telescope or a camera. I tried to figure out what would be so special about this car to photograph it."
Using his right hand to block the sun, Colby looked into the car. He only listened with half an ear. On a normal day he would have ignored strange reflections only of interest for professors of astrophysics, but today wasn't a normal day.
The interior of the car was mostly empty and Colby relaxed slightly, the tension in his shoulder lessened. Taking a deep breath to calm down his racing heart, Colby stepped back. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw something odd by the dark gray blanket on the back seat. On one end the blanket had slightly fallen off. He leaned forward again to take a better look and what he saw stole his breath. Small red wires were peeking from beneath the blanket.
Suddenly all the clues fitted together, the carefully driving, watching from afar and wires in the car.
Colby cursed.
He pushed away from the car and pivoted around. Grabbing his cell from his belt, he walked away. They needed a bomb squad and an evacuation without alerting the guys who were watching and without causing a panic.
"Is everything alright?" Larry had picked up the sudden change in Colby's demeanor.
"We need to get in," Colby said and grabbed Larry's elbow to propel him forward. Looking around he realized that almost nobody except them were in the danger zone. The lobby would be safe and from there they could direct traffic and people to stay away without giving anything away. They just had to reach the lobby. Walking fast, Colby could already see a guard at the entrance, glaring at him with a watchful eye as if he had picked up the situation. Colby nodded, confirming the unvoiced question. There really was something worrisome going on.
Finally, his call connected. He opened his mouth to request a bomb squad and sound the alarm as he heard a small click behind him. The door to the FBI office was just a few feet away. But in a flash, he knew it was too far away. It was too late. He jerked Larry in front of him and pushed him down. It was his duty to protect a civilian, not forgetting that it was Megan's boyfriend and probably also his friend.
He heard the explosion in the same instant as an unseen force slammed into him, knocking him down with such a force, Colby couldn't breathe. He fell over Larry and went down hard.
His last thought was that this was something out of his nightmares, except his nightmares never played in LA. Then everything went black.
Colby heard something. It sounded like a voice. Something different from the ringing in his ears. But he couldn't make out any word. He had learned to fear that strange pressure in his ears, because it only meant that he had found another IED.
"Dwayne?" He asked and coughed. Feeling around, he found an arm and grabbed it. Holding on for dear life, he pushed himself to his knees.
Blood trickled down his face and Colby used his free hand to wipe it away. Soon a new line ran into his eyes and blurred his sight. Realizing that he still heard something and still hadn't moved further away, Colby forced his eyes open again. "Dwayne?" He called out, hoping that his friend would save him again, that he would be by his side. Maybe the memories of betrayal were nothing but ghosts of a nightmare.
Blinking, he looked around fighting the disorientation. Despite the heat, he wasn't in Afghanistan. Instead, he was home and knelt in the front of the LA FBI building. He coughed again.
"Colby? Agent Granger!"
Finally, his eyes found the source of the noise. As he recognized Professor Fleinhardt, the memories came back. He looked behind him to the remnants of a car, fully ablaze.
He needed ... he needed - Colby knew that he needed to do something. The car had already exploded but would this be all? As far as he could see nobody else had been hit by the explosion and the debris. Maybe it was just the start. Maybe - he stopped thinking about it and turned back to the professor. "We need to go!"
"I cannot hear you!" Larry rubbed with his free hand across his left ear.
Colby could read lips well enough to guess the words. With his eyes, he scanned his environment and finally found the entrance to the FBI lobby. Agents and guards had taken shelter there and two guards beckoned him over.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
He couldn't understand what they were saying but their movement was clear. Larry and he needed to reach the safety of the building. He started to crawl forward and pulled Larry with him. The way his ears felt, he would have swayed like a drunk if he tried to stand up.
It was a slow and agonizing way across hot stones and a fire burning behind them but then they were near enough for a team to dart out and pull them in.
Colby lay down and enjoyed the cool tiles in his back, closing his eyes. Over the ringing in his ears he could hear an alarm. It had to be deafening for those with normal hearing. Forcing himself to react to the threat he rose again and leaned against the nearest wall just in time to see the SWAT Commander King arriving. He received a briefing from the guards. The guard who had sound the alarm pointed to Colby.
"What you've got?" King crouched down beside him.
Colby shook his head and pointed to his ears. "I can't understand you."
King nodded. For a primary tactical analysis he didn't need words. He used two fingers to point at his eyes and then scanned with his fingers the windows.
"No," Colby shook his head, "I didn't see anybody. Just the reflection of some camera or binoculars from the other side. They have to be near," Colby reported and wiped away blood from his face. "I guess it was remote controlled and they realized that we had found their bomb." He spoke in what he hoped was his normal voice even if his hearing was muffled.
"Understood," King said and nodded. Then he formed a bowl with his hands or maybe an explosion, Colby had never enjoyed pantomime. "What kind of bomb? How big?"
At least he could guess what King needed to know. "Self-made, I think. I saw wires, and some canisters," he answered and coughed again. He hoped that the pressure wave hadn't damaged his lungs. It would prolong his recovery.
Having gotten everything he needed to know, King returned to his team as the elevator doors opened again and this time, Colby's team rushed out.
David made a beeline for him, Megan headed for Larry and Don stepped up to King. It was telling how their team worked but Colby couldn't think about it any further as David's worried face entered his limited view.
"You're fine?" His friend crouched down studying Colby's dusty face.
"I'll never finish first again," Colby said with a tired grin. "It just doesn't end well."
David laughed but the worried glare didn't lessen.
But the ringing in his ears had lessened, only his right ear was still affected. Swallowing, he tried to relieve the pressure there. One of the guards brought over a first aid kit. It had been already opened and Colby glanced to his left. Megan was fussing over Larry and checked his superficial cuts. His clothes were dirty, his hands bloodied and shaking, but all in all Megan didn't appear too worried. Relieved, he released his breath - he still had been fast enough.
David grabbed a clean bandage and pressed it against the bleeding cut above his eye.
"Ow," Colby complained and swatted David's hand away. He took the gauze and put pressure on the wound himself. "This hurts."
David leaned back, while Don came over. He was fastening his tactical west. "King's spotter has detected some movement over there," he said to David, indicating with his chin the opposite building. It, too, should have been in lock-down keeping their attackers in or forcing them to come out of hiding if they want to make a run for it. He kept Colby in his line of sight, studying him. "We are invited to help out. Colby, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Colby answered, happy that Don's anger wasn't directed at him but these bastards who built a bomb and put it in front of their building. "It's just the last time I'll park in front of the building. The underground parking is far better."
Don laughed out. "If you say so." Then he gaze swept across the room until he had checked everything. He gave Larry and Megan a nod.
"Isn't this a case for the DHS?" David stood up.
Glaring out of the corner of his eye, Don ripped a Velcro strip open and closed it again. "Yes, but Homeland Security is not here now, so we are going to work it."
David's lips twitched in a resemblance of a smile, then he nodded. He leaned forward and patted Colby's shoulder. "Take care man, we're back in a minute." Then he stood up. "After we got them."
Colby understood only half of the words but it was enough to get the gist. He started to stand up. Knowing that he would endanger his team on the front line, he wanted to give them at least some backup. But the world tilted on its axis and he realized that the vertigo would take longer to abate.
"Colby, for crying out loud, stay down!" Megan ordered while she came over. Her voice was easier to understand. "If you're desperate to help, then keep an eye on Larry. He could be our only witness who has seen the driver." She handed David his tactical gear and let Don help her with her own vest. "Can you do that?"
He glanced over to the Professor Fleinhardt and back to Megan. Despite her outward calm, the attack had shaken her as much as him and she wanted somebody she trusted around Larry. It loosened a tight band inside him to learn that she trusted him again. He found her eyes and nodded earnestly. But he had a reputation to keep, so he added with an easy grin, "sure."
Don tilted his head and looked at him appreciatively. "We'll get them." Nodding to his team, they all went off leaving Colby and Larry behind in the safety of the FBI lobby.
Colby moved over to Larry. Up close, he looked terrible. Not because he had suffered extensive injuries but more because the realization had set in that a car had exploded right beside him. He constantly rubbed at his ears.
"I'm pretty sure after they cleared everything we're going to get trip to the hospital sponsored. They can check out your hearing but it should be okay." Colby sat down beside him on his left side. "It's going to be fine."
Larry nodded. "My hearing has already improved. But now I feel something that I have never felt before - I think it's called terror. I can finally understand Charles reluctance to return here after the shooting in Don's office. Such an occurrence shouldn't happen twice in the same office."
Colby snorted. "Yeah, I guess I chose the wrong office after all. But listen," he put his hand on Larry's shoulder, "you actually saved a lot of lives today."
"I did?"
"If you hadn't recognized the strange driving and reflections I wouldn't have given the car a second glance. I would have walked away and come back to my dead friends." Colby swallowed hard.
"Do you think they -"
"We're safe here. King and Don won't accept anything else. I'm sure that this wasn't their plan at all. Maybe the bomb went off on its own or maybe they lost their nerves. Either way, they won't get far." Colby had seen the determined expression on Don's face, mirrored by David and Megan. There was no other possible outcome.
"What about the building? An explosion like this could damage the structural integrity ..." Larry's skin color returned to a healthier tone and his voice lost it's shocked and monotone quality.
"Don't worry, after the Oklahoma City bombing every federal building was checked and reinforced if necessary. The regulations worked or we both would be dead beneath a rumble of concrete." Colby considered it a miracle that it did really work. He was always prepared to be the one to find out that somebody had wanted to reduce costs or save time and taken a shortcut. But the safety mechanism really had worked.
"And Megan? Will she-?"
"Megan is on a warpath. She's fine." He wished he could be with them right now and taken down these bastards who brought a bomb in front of his office, where his friends and co-workers went in and out. But Megan had asked him to keep an eye on Larry for her. This he could do.
"My head hurts," Larry suddenly confessed and closed his eyes.
Colby glanced to the professor. "It goes away. I was near more explosions than I care, but I'm still here. It's going to be okay," he consoled his friend. He regretted not being faster, or they never would have been in the blast radius.
"It's my own fault for standing like a fool in front of a car with a bomb." Larry shook his head. "You have put together the clues I was unable to match."
"Hey, it's not your job to always assume the worst." It wasn't even his job, not anymore. "I don't check every strange car for a possible bomb. It was pure luck that I've seen the wires."
"You are not exactly right in this sentiment." Larry glanced to Colby out of the corner of his eyes. "I need to ensure that none of experiments burn down the school and that I am prepared for everything that could go wrong. This is my job as teacher and scientist. I could have called Megan and report my findings."
Colby snorted. The day ended as surreal as it had started. He sat on the floor of the FBI lobby while it was in lock-down and fighting off an unexpected attack - and he was talking with a professor about job descriptions and how it could have been prevented. He laughed. "I had the whole day a bad feeling, if I had reacted earlier maybe this could have been prevented."
"You prevented a bigger disaster because you listened to my observations and came to the right conclusion." Larry massaged his forehead.
The alarm was starting to get annoying and Colby almost wished the reduced hearing back. But at least vertigo was almost gone and he was one step away from standing up again.
"The light of the stars that reaches us, has been traveling for a long time. Some stars have even died a long time ago, while we still receive their light. We use signals of the past to navigate, to learn about the cosmos and the history of the earth."
"That's nice, Larry, but doesn't have to do anything with this. I was tired and couldn't handle my memories and that resulted in the delay in my reaction that you feel now as pain in your head."
"You didn't let me finish." Larry breathed deeply in and out again. "We all have a past and the light sent by the events long time ago still reaches us. If we us it wisely it will navigate us, if we let us be blinded by it, it will fool us." He rolled his head along the wall to stare at Colby. "Your experiences have provided the navigation to survive this day. Don't curse the past, use it's light as we use the light of dead stars."
Colby stared straight ahead. Maybe the professor was right - the memories of the past were an additional guiding light in the night and not only a distraction that needed to be subdued. Dwayne had saved his life, so now he could save Larry's life. He had to learn to be always on the lookout for an IED. It made some days really stressful and tiresome but in the end it had been the one thing that had saved this office from near catastrophe.
He looked over to his friend and gave him a tired but thankful smile. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Larry laughed and then grabbed his head. "Ow, my head!"
Colby laughed and then coughed. They both were bruised, but relieved and alive. Thanks to the lights of his past.
END
Thanks for reading!